Device for cross feeding individual curved rolled rods or bars

ABSTRACT

A CROSS-FEEDING DEVICE FOR CURVED ROLLED RODS AND BARS WHOSE CARRIER ELEMENTS 36 MOUNTED ON A PLURALITY OF CARRIAGE DEVICES 8 WHICH CAN BE DISPLACED SELECTIVELY IN COMMON INTO CONTACT WITH THE ROLLED PRODUCT AND RAISED   TO LIFT THE ROLLED PRODUCT, WHEREUPON THEY RETURN TOGETHER WITH THE LIFTED PRODUCT.

March 6, 1973 Q w @655 3,719,285

DEVICE. OR CROSS FEEDING INDIVIDUAL CURVE!) ROLLED RODS 0R BARS Filed June 2. 1970 United States Patent M 3,719,285 DEVICE FOR CROSS FEEDING INDIVIDUAL CURVED ROLLED RODS 0R BARS Georg Wilhelm Biise, Krefeld-Fischeln, Germany, assignor to Moeller & Neumann G.m.b.H. Filed June 2, 1970, Ser. No. 42,688 Claims priority, application Germany, June 3, 1969, P 19 28 312.6 Int. Cl. B65g 17/00 US. Cl. 214-1 P 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cross-feeding device for curved rolled rods and bars whose carrier elements 36 mounted on a plurality of carriage devices 8 which can be displaced selectively in common into contact with the rolled product and raised to lift the rolled product, whereupon they return together with the lifted product.

The invention relates to a cross-feeding device for individual curved rolled rods or bars, having transversely movable elements for shifting the rolled material, which are supported by commonly driven carriage devices and which are displaceable relative to the latter in order that all elements for shifting the rolled material can be moved into the region of the curved rolled rods or bars.

Such devices provided with remotely controllable electromagnets as shift elements for displacing elongated steel workpieces have become known from the German patent specification Nos. 373,277 and 380,033. The shifter elements according to the prior art are carried by pivotal levers, are driven against the rolled material by means of commonly adjustable toothed rods, and shift or drag the rolled material during their return motion by utilising the attraction force of the electromagnets.

Owing to the fact that the pivotal levers can yield resiliently when they abut against the rolled material, all electromagnets are moved into engagement with the rolled rod or bar to be transversely displaced even when the rod or bar is curved or bent.

The known-cross-feed device has disadvantages in two respects:

(1) Transverse shifting or dragging of the rolled rods is undesirable in many cases because scratches may be caused thereby on the rods, and

(2) The pivot angle of the levers carrying the electromagnets is limited because otherwise the electromagnets attain an oblique position and lose magnetic effect. This means that heavily curved or bent rolled rods or bars cannot be engaged by all shifter magnets.

Accordingly the invention is based on the object of providing means which permit not only scratch-free crossfeeding of individual curved rolled rods, but which also ensure an increased mutually relative displacement of the shifter elements in order that also heavily bent or curved rods or bars can be engaged by all elements. The solution of this problem consists according to the invention in that each of the elements for shifting the rolled material comprises a carrier means which is adapted to travel under the rolled material and to be vertically displaced and that all elements are individually displaceable independently of a common drive until they engage the rolled rod or bar from below. It is attained thereby that the rolled rods or bars can be shifted or cross-fed individually in a regular manner so that they remain safely free of scratches or abrasions. Owing to the fact that the carrier means are displaceable and not disposed on pivotal levers the displacement path of the individual carrier means relative to each other is theoretically not subjected to any limitation, because a rail guidance for a 3,719,285 Patented Mar. 6, 1973 displaceable element can be constructed in any desirable length.

It is within the scope of the invention that the carrier means are supported directly by the carriage devices which are arranged to be displaced in common and which are additionally adapted to be individually displaced in the region of a rolled rod or bar to be engaged. If a welltried cable drive is used as drive for each carriage device, the driven cable pulleys can be coupled by means of clutches selectively all together or individually to a common driving shaft.

When clutches are to be avoided because of the rough operating conditions prevailing in rolling mills and because of the occurrence of scale and dust, a construction is preferable in which each carrier means is part of an auxiliary carriage which is displaceable in, and securable in position relatively to, the commonly driven carriage device by means of its own drive.

The lifting and lowering drive for the carrier means may be derived from the displacing drives of the auxiliary carriages themselves. However, it is preferable that the vertical displacement of the carrier means is effected by pivoting in vertical planes the displacement tracks for the carriage devices which latter are driven commonly, e.g. by cable drives.

In this case, the stroke for displacing the tracks can be so dimensioned that the tracks can be pivoted downwardly to a level at which the carriage devices including the auxiliary carriages are capable of travelling under the cross-fed rolled material during their return stroke. Accordingly there is no need to wait for effecting the return stroke until the cross-fed rolled rod or bar has been conveyed away by a roller track.

According to a further feature of the invention all movements, that is to say the common movement of the carriage devices, the selective displacement movement of the auxiliary carriages and the vertical displacement of the carrier means may be initiated automatically by a sequence control influenced by end switches or the like, in such manner that the common drive of the carriage devices is stopped when a carrier means of one of the auxiliary carriages is located in the region of the rolled material to be cross-fed, and that the individual drives of all auxiliary carriages are made operative for such period until all carrier means have travelled sufficiently under the rolled material. Furthermore, as soon as the drive for the last auxiliary carriage to come to rest is switched oif, the lifting stroke for pivoting upwardly the displacement tracks of the carriage devices is started and thereafter the common drive for the carriage devices is switched on for effecting the cross-feeding or shifting stroke.

The sequence control may further be constructed in the manner that in a rearward abutment position of the carriage devices the drives of the latter can be switched off and the displacement tracks thereof can be pivoted downwardly, whereafter the auxiliary carriages return into an aligned starting position relatively to their carriage devices. In this manner, all carrier means or auxiliary carriages advance together aligned in one common row during the next following operating cycle, and thereafter they advance selectively, dependently upon the curvature of the next rolled rod or bar to be shifted, until all end switches of the auxiliary carriages have switched off the selective individual drives of the auxiliary carriages by abutment of the respective feelers at the rolled rod.

Furthermore, it may be preferable that the carrier means are fitted With electromagnets which can be energised and de-energised dependently upon the lifting stroke of the displacement tracks in order to shift safely the lifted rolled rod or bar to be cross fed.

One embodiment of the cross-feed device according to the invention is described below With reference to the accompanying drawing which illustrates a cross-section parallel to the cross-feeder shift direction.

In the drawing the outlet end of a displacement cooling bed 1 is shown With a group of bars of T-shaped crosssection, or profiles, the foremost profile 3 of which is to be shifted transversely into a position 3' on a roller table 2. For this purpose a series of cables 4 are used which are disposed at intervals along the length of the rolled bars 3 and which are driven by cable pulleys 5 mounted co-axially on and driven by means of a common driving shaft 6, the cables being guided around idling cable pulleys 7. The ends of each of the cables 4 are connected to a carriage device 8 which is displaceable by means of wheels 9 on a carrier-like or rail-like displacement track 10. The driving shaft 6 constitutes the common displacement drive for the carriage devices 8.

The tracks 10 can be pivoted up and down together about the driving shaft 6 on which they are pivotally mounted. For this purpose a drive 12 is used which includes a crank drive member 14, a crank rod 16, a bellcrank lever 18, and a link 20 which is connected to a common carrier member or beam member 22.

Alternatively, a plurality of pivot drives 12 to 22 may be provided for effecting displacement of the tracks 10. As illustrated in the drawing the tracks 10 are in their center position.

Each carriage device 8 is provided with rails 8a to constiute a displacement path of limited length on which an auxiliary carriage 24 is individually displaceable relative to the carriage device 8 by individual drive engaging driven rollers 25. Each individual drive comprises an electric motor 26 Which is connected to a gear drive 30 by means of a clutch incorporating an electro-magnetical- 1y actuated brake 28. The rotary movement of the motor 26 is applied to a driving wheel 32 from which V-belts 34 and 35 extend to the rollers 25 of the auxiliary carriage 24 and drive the latter. In this manner, the auxiliary carriage 24 is displaceable relatively to the carriage device 8, the brake 28 ensuring that the auxiliary carriage 24 is secured in position when the selective displacement thereof is terminated and a rolled profile 3 is to be shifted. This securing of the auxiliary carriage 24 within the carriage device 8 may additionally be improved in that one of the driven rollers 25 is provided with a pinion which is in engagement with a toothed rack-like counter track on the carriage device 8 (not illustrated) A carrier element 3 6 which may be fitted with a remotely controllable electro-magnet is adapted to travel under the respective leading bar 3 of a group of rolled bars owing to the common displacement drive of all carriage devices 8 and the individual drive of the individual auxiliary carriages 24. This carrier element 36 engages and lifts the bar 3 when the displacement tracks 10 are pivoted upwardly about the axis 6 by actuation of the drive 12 to 22.

Each auxiliary carriage 24 is provided with a feeler rod 38 which actuates a sequence control (not illustrated) in a manner not illustrated in detail, When it abuts against the profile 3 and is pressed back thereby; the sequence control is defined below with reference to the manner of working of the cross-feed device according to the invention.

For the purpose of explanation it is assumed that all carriage devices 8 are disposed in the starting position adjacent to the roller table, in which position for example the wheels 9 of the carriage devices 8 disposed in the shift direction, have attained the position 9 illustrated by broken lines. The positional height of the displacement tracks 10 is adjusted to the illustrated center position, when the roller table 2 is vacant; otherwise the tracks 10 must be lowered still further. As shown in the drawing all auxiliary carriages 24 are located at the right hand end of the rails 8a of the carriage devices 8 in order to permit as large a relative displacement of the auxiliary carriages 24 as possible relative to the respective carriage devices associated therewith.

An operating cycle is initiated in that all carriage devices 8 with their auxiliary carriages 24 are displaced towards the first profiled bar 3 by actuating the common driving shaft 6 for the cable drives 4. Depending upon the curvature of this bar one or another of the support carriages 24 reaches the profiled bar 3 first, and the feeler rod 38 of the respective auxiliary carriage 24 is pressed back thereby and does not only cause the common cable drive and thus all carriage devices to be stopped, but also the motors 26 of all those auxiliary carriages 24 to be started, the feeler rods 38 of which have not yet come into abutting engagement with the profiled bar 3. Accordingly, these auxiliary carriages advance further relative to their carriage devices 8 which are now stationary, and are selectively stopped successively when their feeler rods 38 are pressed back as they engage the bar 3 whereby the brakes 28 are made operative. The sequence control is so dimensioned that the last signal for stopping an auxiliary carriage 24 switches on simultaneously the drive 12 to 22 for pivoting the displacement tracks 10 in an upward direction. Together with the switching off of the displacement drive for the last auxiliary carriage 24 coming to rest and with the pivotal upward movement of the tracks 10, the common drive for the carriage devices 8, i.e. the drive (not illustrated) for the driving shaft 6, is started again by the sequence control for the purpose of shifting or cross-feeding profile 3 which is now in a raised position.

At the end of the shift or cross-feed stroke, the carriage devices 8 are stopped in their rearward abutment position, which again initiates the actuation of the drive 12 to 22 for lowering the tracks 10. The cross-fed bar 3 is deposited thereby in the position 3 on the roller table 2 and is carried away thereon. Subsequently the auxiliary carriages 24 return into an aligned starting position relative to their carriage devices 8.

If the next operating cycle is to be initiated before the profile 3 has been moved away by the roller table 2, the tracks 10 must be lowered to such an extent that during the common advance of the carriage devices 8, the highest parts of the auxiliary carriages 24 are capable of travelling below the profile 3. When this lowering motion has been etfected, the tracks 10 must be moved back into the center position in order that the auxiliary carriages 24 and in particular the feeler rods 38 thereof attain the positional height in which they can be pressed back by abutment against the next profile to be cross-fed.

There are no significant difficulties for realizing electrically the sequence control which has been described above merely by its operation, for which reason it is believed that a detailed explanation of the electrical control and its circuit arrangement can be omitted. A central control unit may be provided in which all control leads from the stationary and displaceable end switches and from the feeler rods 38 run together. The leads extending from the auxiliary carriages 24 to the current supply source and to the control unit are preferably supported by cable chains.

What is claimed is:

1. A cross-feed device for shifting individual curved rolled rods and bars from a delivery station to a receiving station, comprising carriage devices, common drive means for displacing said carriage devices in the cross-feed direction, carrier means mounted on said carriage devices and displaceable relative thereto in said cross-feed direction independently of said common drive means, each of said carrier means forming part of an auxiliary carriage means, and each auxiliary carriage means being displaceable in one of said carriage devices by an individual displacement drive, wherein said carriage devices being displaceably mounted on pivotal displacement tracks, and means for pivoting said tracks to effect vertical displacement of said carriage devices together with said carrier means whereby each of said carrier means can travel individually under a rolled rod or bar to be cross-fed and engage it from below.

2. A cross-feed device for individual curved rolled rods or bars, having transversely displaceable elements for shifting the rolled material which are carried by commonly driven carriage devices and which are displaceable relative to the latter in order to move all elements into the region of the curved rolled rods or bars, characterized in that each of the elements for shifting the rolled material comprises a carrier means which is adapted to travel under the rolled material, said carriage devices together with said carrier means being vertically displaceable, each element being individually displaceable independently of the common drive into a position in which it can engage the rolled bar from below, each carrier means being part of an auxiliary carriage which is arranged to be displaced relative to a commonly driven carriage de- 6 vice and by its own drive to be secured in position thereby, said vertical displacement being affected by upwardly pivoting displacement tracks for the carriage devices.

3. A cross-feed device according to claim 2, wherein the tracks can be pivoted upwardly to such an extent that the carriage devices including the auxiliary carriages can travel under the cross-fed rolled material for eifecting their return movement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,751,093 6/1956 Theibault 21416.16 B 3,175,722 3/1965 Paulssen 214-731 2,073,721 3/1937 Wheelock 214-16.l6 B 3,135,076 6/1964 Hill 2141P2 X ROBERT G. SHERIDAN, Primary Examiner F. E. WERNER, Assistant Examiner 

